Extra special thanks to Holice B.
Young for transcribing book. The excellent work she does
continues to help many researchers! Thanks also, to Pam Rietsch, for
sharing her books with genealogists!

Page 47

Chapter IV.

PERIOD OF HARD TIMES AND HARD FEELINGS.

During the early days of the Normal School's history the people of
Cheney were united in support of the school. They worked in unity to get
it located in Cheney; they subscribed their money for its continuance
when the governor sought to abolish it by veto; they voted bonds to
raise money to pay for the construction of a new building to be used by
the school; they went before the legislature in 1895 with an earnest and
untied please that funds be created not only for the continuance of the
school, but also for the construction of a suitable building. In this
work they were successful. The spirit of self-sacrifice, supplemented by
the powerful argument of steady growth of the Normal School under
adverse conditions, won a great victory for Cheney. When the legislature
of 1895 adjourned supporters if the Normal School believed the future of
the institution was no longer in doubt. But they were mistaken.

The year 1895 witnessed the beginning of several years of discord,
years during which lasting friendships were broken, when factions in
Cheney fought each other at the expense of the institution upon which
the future of the town depended. And, curiously enough, these fights
were waged by the various factions, as each believed, or claimed to
believe, in the interests of the school. Echoes of the troubles in
Cheney spread throughout the state, invaded the state offices at
Olympia, were heard at teachers' institutes, and became the source of
many puns in newspaper offices. Cheney became one of the best advertised
towns in the state, but the advertising was not of a sort to reflect
credit upon the community.

The new building, for which everybody in Cheney had worked so long,
was the occasion of all this strife. Trouble over the building led to
other contentions, which resulted in a series of disagreements between
the administration and a group of Cheney business men. Every occasion
was seized by the latter group as an opportunity for attacking the
management of the school, and ultimately an open fight developed between
the trustees and the group seeking to oust them and the principal of the
Normal School., Affairs reached a climax in February, 1896. The man who
had been awarded the contract for erecting the new building failed to
meet his obligations, and the trustees were obliged to take over the
unfinished work. On account of this failure many workmen of Cheney were
left unpaid, their claims amounting in all to several hundred dollars.
Although it was claimed by the trustees that a sufficient guarantee of
protection for the workmen had been maintained, and that money was
available to meet the obligations, the attorney general ruled that the
debts of the contractor were not obligations of the state, and that they
must be collected from the contractor, not from the board of trustees.

Page 48

The opportunity given the opposition by this occurrence was not
overlooked. One of the first open attacks was made upon an instructor of
mathematics named C. e. Reeves, who was accused of being inefficient in
"imparting knowledge" and of not giving satisfaction to at
least "nine-tenths of the student." A petition, praying for
the removal of Mr. Reeves, was signed by fifty-six citizens of Cheney
and presented to the board of trustees. The petition and the signatures
follow:

After a session lasting most of the night, during which testimony
from students and others was taken, the trustees declared that the
petition would not be granted. The board also voted to sustain the
action of the principal in dismissing from school a young woman who had
been guilty of an infraction of the rules.

The refusal of the board to remove Mr. Reeves led to "direct
action." A group of men met in Cheney on February 15, passed a
resolution, chose an executive committee to draft a formal complaint and
then adjourned. On the morning of February 19 Cheney was covered with
"pink pamphlets," in which many charges were preferred against
the management of the school. The pamphlet, entitled "A Public
Trust a Public Duty," was printed on pink paper and singed by the
following men: D. H. Felch, F. a. Pomeroy, C. W. Baker, and S. G. Grubb.

In making public sundry complaints the committee "appealed to
the intelligence and sense of justice of the masses." It was
charged that the board of trustees had shown lack of judgment in
awarding the contract for the erection of the building; that, as a
result of said incompetence, many innocent persons

Page 49

were suffering; and that the building could not be completed until
"another raid had been made on the state treasury." It was
further charged that the board and the principal had failed to comply
with the provisions of the law in not enacting a set of rules and
by-laws for the government of the school; that a tuition gee of five
dollars was being unlawfully charged each student; that the principal of
the school was incompetent and damaging the institution and the
community in the eyes of the state. The resolution under authority of
which the pamphlet appeared was: "Resolved, that the above article
represents out unanimous sentiment, and that we use our individual
efforts to have it disseminated throughout the state."

The "pink pamphlet" was the means of uniting all groups
that favored the administration. Trustees, students, and citizens of
Cheney came to the defense of the administration with petitions and
"expressions of confidence." A committee of students, composed
of Clyde Miller, H. M. Korstad and J. Howard Reid, called a meeting of
students, circulated a petition among them and then sent the signed
petition to the Spokesman-Review for publication. This petition,
signed by nearly one hundred and fifty students, was as follows:

"We, the undersigned students of the State Normal School at
Cheney, do hereby denounce as false the statement of D. H. Stewart in an
interview with the Spokesman-Review reporter, wherein he states
that nine-tenths of the students are dissatisfied with the faculty and
the rules.

"We also denounce the attack upon the faculty and the honorable
board of trustees by F. A. Pomeroy, S. G. Grubb, and C. W Baker,
committee, and D. H. Felch, secretary, in a pamphlet entitled 'A Public
Office A Public Trust."

"We heartily and voluntarily endorse the rules laid down by the
faculty, and we heartily endorse the action of the trustees in
sustaining said rules and faculty.

"And, moreover, we wish to state that we are satisfied with the
management of the school and request that all attacks on this
institution cease."

Mr. Stewart, editor of The Cheney Sentinel, maintained that
the leaders of the students circulated the petition at the instance of
the principal who, he asserted, had declared that "all loyal
students would sign." Mr. Stewart further claimed that many of
those who signed were new students and not familiar with the
controversy.

Confidence in the management of the school was also expressed by
eight citizens of Cheney: Mayor T. W. Odell, Councilman D. J. Turner,
Steve Harris, and A. L. Ames, and J. S. Mount, H. h. Hubbard, T. J.
McFerron, and C. G. Tipton, in a state which appeared in the Spokesman-Review
on February 23:

"Our usually quiet town is just now in a fever of excitement
over the clandestine publication of a scurrilous attack upon the
trustees and faculty of the State Normal School. * * * It is therefore
due to the school that important facts concerning it, and the attitude
of the people of Cheney toward it, be placed before the public.

"The board of trustees are charged with extravagant and
incompetency. AS the chief instance of extravagance they are accused of
paying a secretary and an assistant. The secretary gives much of his
time to the work and receives $35 a month, and the bookkeeper receives
$10 a month for posting the books. No business man would call this
extravagant.

Page 50

"The incompetency charged is that they let the contract for the
new building at too low a figure, and to an irresponsible party. No
complaint is made that the work is not being honestly and well done.

"It is claimed by experienced builders that the contract was
wisely let and that the work thus far shows that the building can be
completed within the limit of the appropriation. The trustees, Mr.
Manier and Mr. Dempsie, are working constantly to guard the new building
from jobbery and to promote the interests of the school. Mr. Dempsie has
been especially prompt to leave his business at Spokane many times at
the call of the state, and no more honorable, fair or capable man could
be found to look after the state's interest in the school. The public
may rest assured that the new building, when completed, will be one of
the best ever built for the money, and a pride to all friends of
education. * * *

"The false insinuations of the circular against the school seem
unworthy of notice. Principal Sutton has been identified with the school
from its inception in 1890. His qualifications as an instructor, his
skill as an organizer, and disciplinarian, are thoroughly well known
over the state and by hundreds of teachers who owe much of their own
success to the through work of the Cheney Normal.

"In January, 1892, when by default of the former principal the
school was thrown into chaos, principal Sutton stood in the breach, kept
the teachers together, and pushed the bill for the appropriations which
was vetoed in 1893. When State Superintendent Bean was ready to give up
the school, and the teachers were offered good positions elsewhere, but
Mr. Sutton stood firm, induced the teachers to remain to the end of the
year, graduating the class the same as if the state had not withdrawn
its support. * * *

"A legislative committee visited Cheney, examined the books of
the school and reported it to be second to no educational institution in
the state.

"In 1895 the record of the school was placed before the
legislature and, upon the strength of it, the appropriation was again
asked for and obtained. Principal Sutton was persistent in his efforts,
and his success was set forth as the time in a news dispatch from
Olympia, published in the Spokesman-Review of March 16, 1895. * *
*

"The present condition of the school fully justifies the high
expectations of the governor. There are now enrolled two hundred twelve
students in the Normal department and one hundred fifty or more in the
training department of the school. The high standard of instruction, and
discipline is maintained in spite of the misdirected efforts to break it
down. The graduates of the school are either attending college or
filling good position at teachers." * * *

On February 29 a set of resolutions, signed by two hundred sixty-one
citizens of Cheney, expressing confidence in the administration, was
sent to the Spokesman-Review for publication. It was stated that
care had been exercised to keep off the names of students. The
resolutions follow:

"Whereas, Statements have gone before the public derogatory to
the State Normal School, located here, signed by certain individuals who
claim that they represent the citizens of Cheney: and,

"Whereas, The above statements are being made for the purpose of
impairing the efficiency of the school which the last legislature
declared to be second

Page 51

to no educational institution in the state, and of which we are
justly proud, therefore,

"Be it resolved, That we, the undersigned citizens of Cheney,
are opposed to all such uncalled for attacks, and shall exert our
influence and energy in behalf of the best interests of the institution
to the end that the people of the State of Washington will have no
occasion to regret that the State Normal School was located in our
midst."

Interest in the controversy in Cheney attracted state-wide attention,
due in part to the circulation of the "pink pamphlet" and in
part to the wide publicity given it by the Spokane newspapers. Editorial
comment was profuse, part being serious, part facetious. Medical Lake,
Sprague, and Ritzville newspapers were not disposed to be sympathetic
toward the administration, while papers at a greater distance deplored
the quarrel and hoped that it would soon be settled. The point was made
constantly that the State Normal School at Cheney belonged to the state,
not to Cheney, and hat factional fight in Cheney should be not permitted
to impair the work of a state institution.

A paragraph writer for the Spokesman-Review could not resist the
temptation to write the following: "President Harrison (Harrington)
of the state university may visit Cheney before returning to Seattle,
but it is not true, as was reported on the street last night, that he is
going there to collect additional data for his lecture on local and
general storms."

Charges brought against the board of trustees in the "pink
pamphlet" were answered by the Reverend R. H. Manier, one of the
trustees, whose statement was approved by E. Dempsie, another trustee.
Mr. Manier wrote a lengthy review of the action of the board in letting
the contract for the construction of the building. He said, in part:

"It is well known that the board advertised for competitive
plans and required all architects submitting plans to accompany said
plan with a bond that his plan, if adopted, could be let to a
responsible bidder for or below the sum of $55,000, the limit fixed by
the board for the cost of the building. The contract was let to T. R.
Nickalls for the sum of $51,164, he furnishing bonds in the total sum of
$25,000 that he would complete the building according to plans and
specifications for the sum of his bid. Before letting the contract the
board was assured by Mr. Nickalls he would use $5,000 of his own money
to commence the work. Failing to procure the $5,000, and the board
holding back twenty per cent of all estimates as the work progressed,
according to the contract, for the protection of the state, and for
which these same faultfinders condemned the board as incapable of doing
business, the contractor failed, leaving some debts unpaid. In this
emergency the board was forced to take charge of the work and complete
the building. They have advanced far enough now to know they can finish
the work within the limit of the appropriation.

"These compilers say: 'The perfidy of the members of the board
who gave assurances on which they relied, that protection would be
granted brickmakers, stonecutters, and the various other material men
and laborers, can scarcely be too strongly censured, and constitutes one
of the darkest chapters in the whole transaction.' Well, in what does
this perfidy consist? Simply this: Mr.Nickalls, in prosecuting his
contract with the board, contracted with Sharp & Truitt for all the
brick he would need to fulfill his contract. Mr. Nickalls made estimates
on the brick in the walls from time to time and paid them for

Page 52

the same. Sharp & Truitt were brickmakers, making brick in their
yards, and delivering to Mr. Nickalls, and from the same kilns shipping
brick to Sprague and into the Big Bend country. In paying their
brickyard men and those had brought wood from, Sharp & Truitt made
arrangements with Nickalls to give orders on him, which he was to accept
instead of paying money to Sharp & Truitt. The orders thus given and
accepted by Nickalls aggregated over $1600; and these order cover all
now due the business men and citizens of Cheney, and which 'has caused
the bankruptcy of some of the business men of Cheney.'

"Had these compilers desired to state the facts to the public,
they would have said the board they accuse of perfidy did all they cold
to apply the twenty -er cent reserved from Mr. Nickalls to pay on his
debts due for labor and material, but the state auditor refused, under
the law, to allow them to do it; that the attorney general of the state,
by who opinion the board must be controlled, informed these 'compilers'
the trustees could not pay one cent of Nickalls' debts until the
building is completed, and then only out of money due him, if any, on
his contract. They would further have told the people that the attorney
general had told them that the orders given by Sharp & Truitt and
accepted by Nickalls were a private transaction, and that the board they
accuse of perfidy in not paying out of the pockets of the taxpayers of
the state had been instructed by him, as attorney general, not to pay
these orders.

"The statement 'the building will not be completed until another
raid on the state treasure can be made' will be answered b y the
completion of the building within the limit of the present
appropriation; and since they assert they intend by the fight they are
making, to bring about the removal of the present boards and hereby get
control themselves, it will be necessary for them to force the governor
(as they assert they will do if necessary) to the accomplishment of
their purpose very soon, or the building will be completed and turned
over to the state, paid for out of the present appropriation, before
they get their hands in and pay to themselves the private debts of Sharp
& Truitt, and no excuse remain for their contemplated 'raid on the
state treasury.'

"As to their statement that the board has employed an assistant
superintendent, that is simply an unqualified falsehood. There is no
such employee known to the board. Alexander Watt, the superintendent,
has been busily engaged since the work was closed down, on account of
the weather, looking after material, receiving shipments and getting
everything in readiness for resumption of work when suitable weather
comes."

Almost simultaneously with the appearance of the 'pink pamphlets'
came an unfortunate affair in the school, which resulted in the
expulsion of one of the men students. He appealed the case and was
supported by the group in Cheney that was unfriendly to the
administration. After another stormy session the board of trustees
approved the decision of Principal Sutton.

So far as Cheney and the Normal School were concerned, in February,
1896, "it poured." Story after story from the press in those
days tells of the board

Page 53

of trustees adjourning after a session lasting until midnight or well
beyond. Citizens wrote articles attacking the Normal School or some
person connected with it; other citizens wrote spirited replies,
defending the person attacked, or the institution, and in turn
denouncing the authors of former articles. The administration was
attempting to solve the problems and to go on with the building; it
appeared as if many persons were doing all within their power to
obstruct the work. It was an unfortunate state of affairs, from which
the town and the school were a long time in recovering in the estimation
of the general public. It probably paced the way for the disaster of
1897, when another governor interposed a veto.

The failure of the first contractor placed a heavy burden upon the
board of trustees. It became necessary for the board to take up the
unfinished work, save from the "wreckage" what could be saved
and complete the building within the appropriation of $60,000. In the Spokesman-Review
for March 1, 1896, the following story appeared:

"The trustees of the State Normal School adjourned at midnight
without awarding the contract for the competition of the new building
now under construction. The board entered minutely into the details of
the work and was in conference for several hours with Architect Seaton
and Superintendent Watt, and, although ten or a dozen contractors were
here waiting for the verdict, it was decided the safer course not to act
hastily, but to consider the matter for another week.

"As a result of this careful consideration the trustees now
believe that they will be able substantially to complete the building
within the appropriation and have several thousand dollars left for
furniture. This, however, will not cover the indebtedness under the
Nickalls contract, amounting to several thousand (?) dollars. when the
board took the contract off the hands of Contractor Nickalls it was
hoped there would be sufficient funds to complete the building and pay
these claims besides. The attorney general, however, decided that under
the law the board must first complete the building and then consider
payment of the claims against the contractor, if any balance
remained."

"The sum of $60,000 was appropriated by the legislature for the
building and the furniture. The board has expended o date $27,337.59. it
has contracted for the heating and ventilation at $11,569; for the
wiring at $582.50; for the painting at $1500; for the glass, $600; for
the plastering and cement floors, $2850. There is also a balance due the
National Iron Works of $342,50; due W. J. Sutton, $176.70; due Giles
& Peet for stone, $109.

"This makes a total paid out and due by law of $45,067.29. The
board has cash on hand, $198.64, which, deducted from the amount paid
out and the amount due, leaves $44,868.65. The appropriation was
$60,000, so the board now has a clear balance of $15,131.35.

"Some doubt has been expressed as to whether the building could
be completed within the appropriation, and the examination of the bids
offered today was awaited with great interest. These were but one bid
for the entire contract, that of Peter Hughes of Spokane. It was $14,000
upon its face, but an explanation is necessary in order to understand it
correctly. Mr. Hughes proposed these figures upon an understanding that
the contract called for glass, but the glass has already been contracted
for by the board, and that item is therefore to be deducted. In like
manner his bid contemplated the putting in of a cement

Page 54

floor, but the board had also contracted for that, and this calls for
a reduction of $1416.10. He also offers to take the material now owned
by the board, and Superintendent Watt estimated that this will amount o
$1690. Mr. Hughes's net bid, therefore, is $10,749.90./ to this is to be
added $250 figured for incidentals and $1490,74 for the superintendent
and (the) architect, or a total of $12,490.64 yet to be expended, with
$15,131,35 available. If these calculations should be borne our in the
actual construction, there would remain a balance of $2540.71 for
furniture for the new building.

"The board questions whether this would be ample, and to
increase the balance has about concluded to leave the attic floor
unfinished for the present. Architect Seaton estimates that this would
effect a saving of $846.40. It if is done, the apparent balance would be
increased to $3487,11.

"the board has also under consideration the omission of the
tiling in the corridors and estimates that this would make a saving of
$825. An additional saving of $800 could be provided by omitting the
cement floor in the basement of the main building. If all these
reductions should be agreed upon, the apparent balance would be
$5112.11. these is some question, though, whether, under the law, the
tiling and the cement floor could be omitted. There is no question that
the board has power to leave the attic floor unfinished, because that
would require no alteration of plans, but it is thought that the
substitution of oak for tile floors in the corridors and basement would
be a change of plans, and therefore of doubtful legality. Trustee
Dempsie is to refer the question to Attorney General Jones.

"The board figured along these lines not because it has decided
to award the contract to Mr. Hughes, but for the reason that his bid
covered all the work and material. Chairman Walter said after
adjournment that he considered the Hughes bid the lowest and the
best."

Compete reports on the turn affairs took in the spring and the summer
of 1896 are not available, but it is known that the breach between the
administration and the town group opposing it widened rather then
narrowed. But, despite it all, work on the new building progressed so
satisfactorily that the class of 1896 held if graduating exercise it in
it June.

The controversy of 1896 brought a new newspaper to Cheney, the Cheney
FreePress, to support the interests of the Normal School
administration. This paper has survived all of its competitors and is
still being published in Cheney. The first issue appeared on April 10,
1896. Money to establish this newspaper

Page 55

was furnished by a group of business men of Cheney who were friendly
to the Normal School administration. The name of the newspaper was taken
from the Detroit Free Press.

Meantime, while the attention of Cheney folk was centered on the
affairs of the Normal School, political changes of tremendous import
were taking place in the nation. This was the year of William Jennings
Bryan and the nationwide agitation for the free coinage of silver. The
free-silver movement made its influence felt in Washington, resulting in
the temporary "fusion" of the silver democrats, the silver
republicans, and the populists. Out of this fusion came misfortune for
the State Normal School at Cheney.

John R. Rogers, who was elected governor of Washington on the
"fusion" ticket in 1896, was no friend of the Normal School.
He had a hobby, It was the common schools, and he is popularly credited
with the authorship of the famous "barefoot schoolboy" law. A
monument erected to his memory, commemorating his work in behalf of the
public schools, stands in front of the old capitol building in Olympia.
But Governor Rogers, despite his interest in the old common schools,
failed to see the proper relationship existing between them and the
institution which train elementary teachers. He advocated, as did
Governor McGraw before him, a "central" normal school. It
therefore boded ill for the State Normal School at Cheney when Mr.
Rogers assumed office as chief executive of the state.

Trouble which had arisen over the new building, the attitude of the
new governor and the economical spirit which pervaded the legislature
were matters of no little concern to Cheney folks. Preparations were
made to have the needs of the school brought to the attention of the
legislature. Despite the unfavorable circumstances, the completion of
the new building, representing a considerable outlay on the part of the
state, led the active supporters of the school to believe that the state
could not afford to abandon the institution or to cripple it in any way.
The sequel will show that this belief was not wholly justified.

The biennial report of the general board of trustees to the governor,
as summarized in the Cheney Free Press, for January 8, 1897, showed an
unexpended balance of $11,008.90 from the building fund, an unexpended
balance of $11,378.57 from the maintenance fund and $328,22 from the
deficiency appropriation. The local fund showed receipts of $1997.82 and
disbursements of $1696.03.

The Cheney Free Press, January 22, 1897, announced that the trustees
had accepted the new building with the exception of the heating plant,
but had reserved a fund ample to care for anything that was not wholly
satisfactory.

Meantime, while the affairs of the Normal School were running the
gamut of politics in Olympia, trouble of a serious nature was brewing at
home. The outcome was the resignation of Principal W. J. Sutton. On
February 1, 1897, he addressed the following communication tot he board
of trustees:

"Owing to the differences which have arisen between your
honorable body and myself concerning the administration of affairs of
this institution, and of which there seems to be no probability of an
amicable adjustment, I herewith tender my resignation, to take effect
March 2, 2897."

The resignation was accepted by the board. Trustee E. Dempsie issued
the following statement: "We have thirty days in which to fill the
vacancy, but

Page 56

I do not think we will appoint any one before the end of the school
year, in June. We will probably place Assistant Principal Stone in
charge until then. I do not think there will be any changes in the
faculty. I would like to say of Professor Sutton that he is a fine man
and has always taken a deep interest in the welfare of the school. He
has always been anxious to see it take a front rank."

On February 6 Miss Nellie G. Hutchinson and Miss Lina M. Kiernan also
tendered their resignations to the board, and a few days later Mrs.
Lucretia K. Weygant resigned. The resignation of Miss Hutchinson and
Miss Kiernan were accepted by the board the day they were given.
Assistant Principal W. C. Stone was placed temporarily in charge of the
institution.

The following dispatch from Cheney to the Spokesman-Review, under
date of February 6, tells of happenings in Cheney that day:

"This has been an exciting day in the history of the State
Normal School, Professor W. J. Sutton, after five years' service as
principal of the institution, has served that connection, and with him
have gone two of the faculty--Miss Nellie G. Hutchinson, principal of
the Training School and teacher of methods, and Miss Lina M. Kiernan,
grammar and geography. For the present Professor W. C. Stone, assistant
principal and professor of natural sciences, will perform the arduous
duties falling in the troubled pat upon Professor Sutton, and Miss Grace
F. Swearingen, a former popular and successful teacher in the school,
but now taking a post graduate course at Berkeley, Cal., has been
elected to the placed vacated by Miss Hutchinson.

"The formal announcement of these changes was attended with
scenes at once dramatic and charged with deep emotions. The announcement
of the board's action called out a few hisses from some of the zealous
admirers of the deposed teachers, eight pupils out of more than two
hundred declaring their purpose of leaving the institution, and
professor Sutton was tendered an affectionate and pathetic ovation, his
brief farewell utterances being broken by the sobbing of many pupils and
vigorous handclapping by others.

"There could be no mistaking the sentiment of the pupils. They
love professor Sutton, have faith in him, and believe that he is a
victim of persecution.

"As a counter current to these demonstrations the calm
determination of the trustees was conspicuously in evidence. Their
convictions developed, they were prepared to perform a painful duty and
were not to be swerved there from by emotion or hostile
demonstration."

Following the announcement to the students by the chairman of the
board of the action that had been taken with respect to the resignation
of the teachers, Mr. Sutton was asked to speak to the students. He said:

"Students of the Normal School: I will say that I feel that I
can not talk to you this morning. This will be the last time I shall
appear before you in the capacity of principal. It has been about five
years since the control of this school fell upon me. I can here say that
it has been my whole ambition to make the Cheney Normal School one of
the best in the country. The young men and women who have graduated from
this school I am proud of. I am proud of you. I have never had to make
any apologies for you. I wish you all Godspeed and success."

Page 57

The farewell address of the students to Mr. Sutton, given at a
special reception in his honor, was made by George E. Craig, president
of the class of 1897.

Citizens of Cheney gave a reception in honor of the departing
teachers in the Odd Fellows Hall on February 11, 1897. Several addresses
were made, and the work of the principal and the other teachers was
commended. By special order of the board of trustees, students of the
Normal School were not permitted to attend the reception.

Mr. Stone did not continue long as head of the institution. J. J.
Rippetoe, a member of the faculty of Portland University, was elected
principal and assumed his duties at once. At the time of his departure
from Portland University, the faculty of that institution passed the
following resolution:

"Whereas, Professor J. J. Rippetoe, A. M., has seen fit to
vacate the chair of natural science of Portland University he has so
honorably held from the second year of the history of the school, to
take an important place in the faculty of the Washington State Normal
School at Cheney, therefore,

"Be it resolved by the faculty of Portland University, That we
part with regret with Professor J. J. Rippetoe, whose excellent
qualities as a man, whose skill and kindness as a teacher, and who
faithfulness as business manager of Portland University we shall
gratefully remember;

"That we command Professor Rippetoe to the confidence of the
faculty, students, patrons and friends of the State Normal School of
Washington at Cheney."

In Olympia during this time the Normal School was also having
difficulties. A bill to abolish the State Normal School at Cheney, as
well as the institution at Whatcom, has been introduced in the
legislature and recommended for passage by a senate committee. There was
fear in Cheney that the bill might pass.

Page 58

A favorable report on the institution was made to the legislature by
the senate visiting committee, as follows:

"We found the school at present occupying the new building
erected by the trustees during the past two years. It is our opinion
that the same is exceedingly well adapted for the purpose intended, and
that the state has acquired a model building for the money which was
appropriated for that purpose. We feel that the trustees during the time
of the construction have earnestly devoted much time to this work, and
have at all times shown a devotion to the state's interest that reflects
not only credit on them, as trustees, but which is also evident in every
transaction requiring the proper spirit of economy in public affairs.

"In protecting the interest of the state the trustees may have
inadvertently and unintentionally caused hardships to claimants for
material and labor furnished to the contractor of the building during
its erection; but we deem their conduct proper and their actions in the
matter unavoidable at the time. The trustees built the Normal School so
far as completed within the appropriation and should be commended for
their earnest work.

"In reference to the present and past management of the school
proper your committee hardly feels able to offer an opinion, but it is
of the belief that the changes made by the trustees in the faculty were,
in their opinion, for the betterment of the institution. The present
faculty are held in the highest respect by both students and the board,
and matters are now in such a favorable condition that the school will
surely prove to be a valuable acquisition to our educational
institutions of the state. We believe and would recommend that in order
to keep up the present high standard of the institution no reduction of
salaries would be advisable. The trustees during the past year have
greatly reduced many, of not all, salaries."

A deficiency bill to reimburse the contractors who lost $9,500 in
constructing the Normal School building was introduced in the
legislature, but failed of passage. It was argued by the legislature
that the experience gained by these contractors should be an
"example" to all others bidding on public buildings.

Page 59

In the closing days of the session a bill (S. B. 273) making an
appropriation for the Normal School was passed, but Governor Rogers, as
many person had expected him to do, vetoed the bill, as well as the
measure making appropriations for the institution at Bellingham (Whatcom).
Ellensburg was jubilant, anticipating a great gain for the Normal School
located there. Opinion throughout the state divided on the governor's
action, and there were predictions that the "regret" this
veto, as another governor had done before him.

Wherever the Normal School had friends, resentment ran high against
the governor's action. Teachers as a class denounced it, and many
newspapers were not favorably impressed by the reasons advanced for the
veto. V. H. Hopson, superintendent of schools in Spokane County, in an
address to the county teachers' association in Cheney, April, 1897,
said: "I condemn the action of Governor Rogers for his veto. He has
proven himself an enemy of high education, and as such he is my
enemy."

Recollections of the manner in which the citizens of Cheney has
financed the Normal School four years before, when conditions were
thought by some to be much less favorable, prompted many suggestions to
the effect that a "way out would be found." The Pullman
Herald voiced that belief; other newspapers repeated it; and the
people of Cheney believed it. it was certain, regardless of what
subsequent action might be taken, that the class of 1897 would be
graduated.

On May 8, 1897, the following story appeared in the Spokesman
Chronicle:

"Professor J. J. Rippetoe, acting principal of the Cheney Normal
School, came in from Cheney this morning. He reports the school in
excellent condition and the work progressing very smoothly, considering
the state of doubt existing concerning the continuance of the school.

"'One thing has been fully decided,' he said. "That is that
the present term of school will be finished the same as if the
appropriation had not been vetoed. Regarding the advisability of
attempting to continue the school after this year, the friends of the
institution are in considerable doubt.

"The matter of the governor's veto will be carried to the
supreme court during the present month, and an attempt made to have the
veto declared uncon-

Page 60

stitutional on the grounds that it is against public policy to
discontinue the school or to refuse to support it. The point is an
intricate one and involves the question of whether under the state
constitution the governor's veto is an unlimited one, or whether in
exercising it he is to be governed by the supreme court's idea of public
policy.

"Attorney Frank Graves has been employed to represent the
school, and feels confident of winning his case and securing an order
from the court instructing the auditor to issue certificates of
indebtedness to defray the running expenses of the school.

"The plan adopted and successfully enforced four years ago, when
the appropriation was vetoed by Governor McGraw, was a little different
from this. The matter was taken into the supreme court then, and the
auditor cited to appear before the court and shoe cause why he should
not issue certificates of indebtedness for the school, but yielded the
point without appearing in court, and issued the certificates of
indebtedness without a decision of the point being made by the court.

"'If the court decides against the school, there is not much
probability that the school will be able to continue, as its friends are
not as well able to support it as they were four years ago; and besides
this, they are not working as harmoniously among themselves.'"

School was continued and the class of 1897 was graduated. But it was
done at a considerable sacrifice on the part of the faculty. For four
years the state neglected to pay the teachers for three months of
service. In the legislative session of 1901 a special bill, calling for
an appropriation to pay members of the faculty for services during
April, May, and June, of 1897, was introduced. The bill was passed in
March, during the closing days of the session, and was permitted to
become a law without the signature of the governor. Money was
appropriated in the following amounts:

Throughout the summer of 1897 some hope was entertained that the
school would remain in the fall, and several positive statements were
made to the effect that it would resume. Such a view was expressed by
members of the board of trustees as late as August 13. It was planned to
open school September 6. By September 1, however, hope had been
abandoned. Faculty members were preparing to leave Cheney to accept
position elsewhere.

Page 61

"The people of Cheney need not lose heart, because the Normal
School there is passing under a dark shadow of misfortune,"
declared the Spokesman Review. They have the public sympathy, and
if they will keep up their gallant fighting of the past, the people will
sustain them.

"Back of this question lies something even greater then the
existence of this particular school. It is the important principle
whether a governor shall be permitted to destroy an institution of the
state, established by the legislature and a previous governor, and
fostered and approved by every succeeding legislature. The Normal School
at Cheney was established under a compact with the United States. It was
the state's first normal school. The people have never asked that it be
abolished. The wisdom of its creation was attested by large and
increasing attendance. It filled a demand, and the principle ought to be
firmly established in this state, so that in all the years of the future
none will ever again dispute it, that every successful institution of
learning, which has demonstrated its right to exist by a large and
increasing attendance, must be fostered and maintained.

"For the present not a great deal can be done. The people of
Cheney can, at slight expense, make some provision for the protection of
the building and its contents, and they can ask and urge the former
owners of the site to waive their claim of forfeiture. A year hence,
when the campaign comes on for the election of a new legislature, they
can carry this principle before the people and have an expression of
popular desire."

Looking back over a period of twenty-five yeas, W. C. Stone, vice
president of the Normal School at the time of Governor Rogers's veto,
wrote the following: "In 1985 the legislature again made an
appropriation for the school, an amount sufficient to meet the deficit
and provide for the maintenance the following two years. but the
troubles of the institution were not over, for in 1897, after the
legislature had again made an appropriation for the following two years,
an arch enemy of the institution was in the chair of state. Governor
John R. Rogers had a pet--the common schools of the state. He had little
sympathy for high education. His ambition was to have enacted what he
termed a 'barefoot boy' school measure, whereby the funds of the state,
to be used for education purposes, should be devoted very largely to the
education of the boys and girls in the common schools, and he had little
use for normal schools in general and none at all for the one at Cheney.
So, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Governor John McGraw,
he too wrote 'I forbid' across the enactment that made provision for the
support of the Cheney school for the following two years. Again the
faculty agreed to finish the school year and graduate a splendid class
of teachers, without compensation, until such time as the legislature
might meet again and vote funds for this purpose."